An unfortunate end is coming to the relationship between Ousmane Dembele, the speedy French winger and FC Barcelona, his club for the last 6 years. He was bought with 135 million euros from the 222 million euros Barca received for selling Neymar to French team PSG, and now PSG is coming for him. Perhaps even more shocking, Barca could end up with no more than 25 million euros in exchange due to some obscure clauses in Ousmane’s contract terms.
Adding to the strangeness of the situation, as recently as Saturday, Xavi felt confident Ousmane was comfortable at Barca and eager to stay. Only a couple of weeks ago, Ousmane reiterated his affection for Barca and desire to see an extension signed. No one saw this coming and unfortunately, that fault must lay with the club. This was a situation on which they should have had a much, much better handle. Heads should roll but I suspect they won’t.
The reasons why the French national wants to go back to PSG are uncertain but several. Firstly, he may feel more comfortable back in France although there has really been no talk of that. Secondly, and most definitely, PSG has put a much larger offer on the table than Barca can match given its financial problems. Some have said that Ousmane was concerned Barca only wanted to re-sign him in order to sell him but the straw that might have broken the camel’s back was a rumour in which Barca was willing to trade him as part of a deal for Mbappe. Barca denied the rumour of course but it was very believable since their arch rivals, Real Madrid, are almost certainly Mbappe’s next club. Mbappe to Barca would have been the steal of the century.
And of course there is also the underhandedness of PSG and their willingness to make any promises necessary to secure what they want. No doubt beyond the improved offer they have promised to fete hometown boy Dembele like no one before. I wonder how many months it will be before he feels the same sting as outgoing prodigy Mbappe to whom all the promises were made. Don’t fall for it Ousmane.
He will be a loss for Barca. Although often injured, Dembele had speed down the wing that most defenders could not match and that speed often equated to a good look from a sharp cross into the box. In his 6 years he played in 185 games and provided 40 goals and 43 assists. Competitors had to game plan for Dembele and that left more field open for other players.
Even so, he never lived up to his expected potential as the man he replaced, Neymar had played in 186 matches in 2 fewer years and produced 105 and 76 assists. While this was mainly due to injuries, Dembele also had a personality that was more introverted and self centered rather than team first. As a result, it took much longer to integrate into the team and always left him with a nagging suspicion about the team and its management. A left handed, monkey wrench kind of guy.
I’ll miss him. Whenever he was on the field you always felt like he could pull a little magic out of the air and make something happen. But I am concerned. As mentioned, Neymar went to PSG and literally fell off the map in terms of quality and superstardom. I fear that PSG’s massive promises are exaggerations and that Ousmane will fail in building his name and his brand on a club that doesn’t really understand winning. Sure they’ve bought themselves many great players over the years but they’ve never developed any and that speaks to their lack of quality as an organization. If you have any time to change your mind Ousmane, do it now. For Barca, it’s fans but most importantly, for your own football journey and legacy.